Surgical appliance



April 3,:1928.

' E. M DONNELL.

SURGICAL APPLIANCE Filed Oct. e. 1926 Patented Apr. 3, 1928.

ELLEN MGDONNELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SURGICAL APPLIANCE.

Application filed. October 6, 1926.

The invention relates generally to improvements in surgical appliances, and particularly to an appliance adapted to be used in feeding postoperative patients by administration of liquid food through the rectum cavity to the larger bowels where 1t w1ll be absorbed.

At the present day it is the best and common practice to feed all post-operative patients in the manner above referred to, notwithstanding whether or not the operation has been a major or minor one, in connection with which the invention disclosed furnishes a useful surgical appliance havlng a wide field of utility, and for other purposes such as to give nutritive enemas.

An object of the invention is to prov de a surgical appliance in the form of a drlpper or dropper that will dispense a liquid from an elevated container, drop by drop to a surgical instrument from where it is adm1n-. istered to the patient.

Another object of'the invention is to provide means for regulating the number of drops per unit of time, and at the same time provide a sight feed arrangement so that the timing of the dropping can be readily determined by counting.

Another object of the invention is to provide a return flow branch arranged so that in the event that the patient is not retaining the liquid, it may be readilyseen. Since the patient is not always conscious of not retaming the liquid, the return flow branch provides means of observing the retention, and the tube leading therefrom, normally hung over the liquid container, can be shifted to a bed pan, or other receptacle at such times to prevent the liquid from being expelled onto the bed and eliminating the necessity of moving the patient, animportant point in that it is sometimes very dangerous to a postoperative patient to be moved.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for accumulated gases to escape, thereby making it possible for the patient to retain the food.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide means for preventing return gases from contaminating the liquid or food, and also means for preventing the pocketing of contaminated gases around the dropper.

WVith the foregoing and such other objects in view as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combina- Serial No. 139,864.

tion and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes inthe precise embodiment of the in vention herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spiritof the invention.

I In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a modified form of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to 1 and 2 showing av further modification.

Fig. 1 is a view showing the appliance attached to the liquid container ready for use.

The surgical appliance or sight feed dropper is preferably made of glass or other transparent sanitary material and comprises, as illustrated in Fig. 1, an inlet branch 11 having disposed therein a downwardly centrally substantially axially disposed dropper 12 adjacent its upper end.

A return flow branch 13 is disposed sub- 'stantially parallel to the inlet branch 12,

bothbeing connected by a conduit or passage let from which extends downwardly a discharge branch 15. j The ends of the branches 12, 13 and 15 are preferably reduced adjacent their ends and an annular flange or enlargement 16 is formed on each i of said ends from where a nipple of reduced diameter 17 extends, said flange providing means for securely attaching a rubber hose or tubing, thereby preventing it from easily becoming disengaged therefrom. and also providing a hermetically sealed joint.

The upper wall 18 of the conduit passage la is preferably formed by an enlarged radius so that gases passing upwards through the discharge branch will be deflected toward the return flow branch and consequently prevented from passing into the inlet branch. This large space formed by the enlarged area provides for holding discharged gas until it gradually passes out through the return flow outlet, thereby aiding the patient in retaining the liquid. A plurality of small apertures 19 may also be provided at the junction of the dropper 12 and theinlet branch 11 so as to provide for the escape of any stray gases that might inadvertently reach there and would probably later tend to contaminate the food.

The assembled device is illustrated in Fig.

4, in which 21 is an ordinary container havcured to the end of the. discharge branch 15,

and has a suitable rectal tip or tube or other attachment 32 secured to its end adapted to be inserted into the patient.

Another tube or conduit38 extends from the return tiowbranch l3 and has a hollow hook or bent member 34' secured thereto arranged to be hung over the receptacle 26, during the administration of the toodto the patient. l i

Referring ,to theunodification shown in Fig. 2, it' is to be noted that here the discharge elementis in substantial axial alignment with the return flow branch 13; that a communicating connection 35 joins .the portion of the feed branch adjacent the dropper 12 with the over flow or return flow branch 1; that the lower wall 360i said connecting conduit is substantially horizontal, and that the upper wall is formed with a decidedly large radius to form an enlarged space and deflector so that any return gases emanating from the dlscharge' element that do not go directly out of the return flow branch will be deflected on this wall and caused to .be directed toward the return flow branch and allowed to passout at a rate of flow proportionate to the area of the outlet, thereby aiding the patients retention. a v

The :turtherprovision for preventing the contamination of the food is provided for by the conduit which will discharge any gasesthat are pocketed around the drip, into the return flow branch, thus making it practically impossible for any appreciable amount of gases reaching the food in the container.

1 The modified form shown in Fig. 3 sub stantially similar in construction to thatshown in Fig. 2, except that the dropper 12 is tapered toward its outlet end to form a restricted opening, and that the passage is arranged to slant upwardly, and has its outletend of restricted diameter also, so as to facilitate the direction of travel of gases in the pocket around the dropper 12 toward the return flow branch, and prevents any of the gases from the over flow branch finding their way to the inlet branch 12.

A clip 38 of any conventional form is provided on the tube 29 arranged for the regulating of the'rate of drip.

The operation of the surgicalappliance .is substantially as follows The liquid to be administered to the panewness ping from the dropper 12 due to its transparency, thence passing through the discharge element into the tubing; 31 and attachment into the patient being fed.

in the event thatthe patient is not retainingthe liquidot which tact'a patient isnot always conscious, itcan readily be detected rising in the returnllow branch 13 oflthe appl ance in which case, the end 34. maybe transposed to a' bed pan or other receptacle,

so that the unretamed liquid will be ex- ,pellcd .bythe patient into said ,panthus obviating the necessity otjmoving the patient,

which is sometimesa practical impossibility due ,to the condition of the patient, thus preventing the soiling ofthe bed clothes which would otherwise Occur.

. It is thought thata turthendescription.ot

the meansby which the contaminated gases are allowed to escape would be superfluous and thatthe real invention is apparent from the above and the appended claims. lclairn: l

1. In an article of the. class described, a transparent element having three branches, one of said branches being adapted to conductliquid iroin asource of supply, another oiisaid branches being adapted to discharge said liquid, the other adaptedto conduct any return how and a gas space between said branches. l

2. In a si ht feed article of the class described, anuinlet branch, a dropper Within .said branch, a discharge branch arranged to receive the contents of saidinletbranch, and a return flow communicating with both of said branches, all formed integral.

3. In a sight feed article of the class described, two substantially parallel communieating branches, a chopper formed in one or said branches, and a discharge branch arranged to communicate with both of said branches. 1 r l 4L. In an article. of the class described, an inlet branch, a dropper in said branch, a. discharge branch communicating with the lowest end of said inlet branch and extending upwardly toward said inlet branch to 'form a returnflow conduit, and a conduit laetween said inlet branch and return flow conduit arranged to communicate with the lowest par-tot saidinlet branch to said dis chargeand over flow elements, having substantially hor zontal lower wall and an iu'nvardly extending upper wall, wherebya deflector is formed to deflect any gas emanating from the discharge element out of the path of the inlet branch.

6. In combination with a receptacle having an outlet, a tube leading therefrom, a surgical appliance comprising an inlet branch, a dropper in said branch, an outlet branch and a return flow branch all integral and communicating, connected by said inlet branch to said tube and another tube leading from said over fiow branch adapted to communicate with said receptacle 7 The combination with a surgical appli ance comprising an inlet branch, a dropper in saidbranch, an outlet branch and a return flow branch, of a tube connecting said feed branch and a receptacle, a tube connecting said discharge end with a nozzle, and a tube on said return flow end arranged to communicate With the upper part of said receptacle.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature at 10 South La Salle St, Chicago, Illinois.

ELLEN MCDONNELL. 

